In this thesis, we demonstrate work on two different cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. First, the synthesis of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) is reproduced from literature using two lithiation methods starting with amorphous iron phosphate (FePO4). For both reactions, the product at each step of the synthesis was analyzed using Mössbauer Spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction in order to gain further insight of the reaction mechanism. The results of this work were published in Journal of Power Sources.
The second cathode material of interest was lithium iron silicate (Li2FeSiO4). A novel synthetic method was developed to produce lithium iron silicate cost effectively starting with low cost precursors and basic laboratory equipment. The material was synthesized using a solid- state synthesis after milling and carbon coating, electrochemical performance was evaluated. An attempt was made to synthesize off-stoichiometric lithium iron silicate in order to increase the electrochemical performance of the material.